Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Education is a long process that not only provides us with basic skills such as literacy and numeracy, but is also essential in shaping our future lives. From the moment we enter 47 as small children, and as we progress through primary and secondary education, we are laying the foundation for the life ahead of us. We must 48 ourselves to work hard so that we can pass exams and gain the qualifications we will need to 49 a good job. We must also acquire 50 life skills so that we can fit in and work with those around us. And of course health education helps us to understand how we can stay 51 and healthy.
For most people, this process ends when they are in their mid-to-late teens. For others, however, it is the beginning of a(n) 52 of learning. After they finish school, many progress to 53 education where they will learn more useful skills such as computer literacy or basic business management. Others will enroll in a program of 54 education at a university where, with hard work, they will have the opportunity to graduate after three or four years with a well-earned degree. After that, they may work for a while before 55 to study for a higher degree—an M.A., for example, or a PhD. And if they live a long way from a college or university, they might follow a correspondence course using mail and the Internet. In fact, it is 56 due to the proliferation of computers that many people, who have not been near a school for many years, have started to study again and can proudly class themselves as mature students.
[A] changing [I] discipline
[B] secure [J] fit
[C] longer [K] opting
[D] kindergarten [L] school
[E] higher [M] valuable
[F] lifetime [N] heavily
[G] deepen [O] further
[H] largely